Atlanta’s maestro KEY! re-emerges with a new single “You Need God,” featuring fellow Atlanta native Tony Shhnow. The song, produced by DJ Marc B, finds KEY! rejuvenated and back at the forefront of hip-hop with his first release of 2023. This triumphant first offering follows KEY!’s ‘Late Night Church Service’ in Atlanta where he first unveiled the single, and sets the tone for his forthcoming project Marquis, entirely produced by DJ Marc B, coming soon via Third & Hayden in partnership with SoundCloud.
KEY! regards Marquis as his best work to date, which includes a renowned catalog of a dozen mixtapes and five studio albums, including the ahead-of-its-time 2013 album Fathers Are The Curse, 2020’s I Love You Say It Back, 2021’sThe Alpha Jerk, and his industry-shaking joint album with Kenny Beats, 777, which Pitchfork called “the most ridiculously fun rap project of the year” in 2019. With more details to be unveiled soon, Marquis cements KEY! as a stalwart voice in Atlanta’s musical tapestry whose sound has proven timeless for over 10 years and counting.
For the uninitiated, KEY! has been an innovative rapper, producer, and songwriter in the Atlanta underground scene for over a decade, with a sound that has relentlessly pushed the boundaries and paved the way for several generations of Atlanta artists. After first coming onto the scene as a founding member of the highly-regarded Two-9 collective, KEY! worked with Three 6 Mafia founder Juicy J and built a devoted fanbase that has followed him since his first release in 2012.
Aside from his own musical output, KEY! has also been a championing A&R at the center of hip-hop for years with an unsung ear for burgeoning talents. He’s collaborated with the likes of the A$AP Mob, Father & Awful Records, iLoveMakonnen, Playboi Carti, OG Maco, Rico Nasty, Jay Critch, Skepta, 6LACK, Reese LaFlare, and helped to spotlight emerging artists at the time like 21 Savage & Post Malone, and more recently, Atlanta’s own hyperpop innovator BEAR1BOSS.
Check out “You Need God” featuring Tony Shhnow above and stay tuned for more from KEY! coming soon.